Ok, so the title doesn’t say it all. But here’s my situation.

I have the typical partial custody situation with my 13 year old son.

I’m trying to be a positive role model and all towards him. I’m 40 years old, I’m in the military, and am very physically active (running, lifting, competing in OCR’s, etc.) When I was a kid, I was a swimmer and runner. I sucked at actual team sports.

Anyway, my ex-wife and her husband sign him up for a ridiculous amount of sports. He’s gonna play football for his school and be on a Rec league for baseball this fall. Don’t get me wrong, I’m totally in support of him playing sports.

Here’s what bothers me. I don’t want to sound like one of those dads who forces his kid to play what he played for some selfish reason, but whenever I suggest he try another sport, I immediately get shot down. For example, I think my son would crush at wrestling. He’s really strong for his size. He only plays sports that her husband coaches. Not hating on him either, just stating facts.

I mentioned at the beginning that I’m in the military. I’ve got 18 years in and am at the top of my career. It’s done so many great things for me in my life including having $0 college loans. I’d like for my son to at least entertain the idea of doing ROTC to pay for college when the time comes. I did JROTC in HS and loved it. Again, she immediately shuts me down when I bring it up.

Idk, this makes me feel irrelevant as a father. I haven’t told her how this makes me feel. Is anyone else in a similar situation? Any advice?